Commonly translated as “this very same day” or “selfsame day”, בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם b’etsem hayom (H6106 + H3117) literally means “in the bone of this day” and is an idiom of uncertain meaning, but may mean “middle of this day.” This term may compare to מַחֲצִית הַיּוֹם machatsit hayom (H4325 + H3117) in Nehemiah 8:13, “He read from [the book of the Torah of Moses] before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until the middle of the day (מַחֲצִית הַיּוֹם machatsit hayom)…”
According to etymologist Isaac E Moseson, the term means backbone or middle of the day. “The Chinese root 中 (zhōng) is a reasonable match for the Tzadik-Mem (צֶם) Hebrew bone of contention above, has several relevant meanings. Among these are Middle Finger, Backbone, Center, Core, Noon and Midday. Yes, there is nothing wrong with translating [this term] as “the bone of the day”, once we have the Chinese to teach us that the “bone” (eTZeM) is the middle and strong core (oMeTZ)”
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